Top Posts From Nourishing Minimalism in 2015

2015 brought so much growth from this blog- so many more readers, Facebook fans and Instagram followers. It’s been so rewarding to read comments and letters of people who have found encouragement through this blog, it’s exciting to be part of this growing community of people who are seeking to live more purposeful lives.

Thank you so much for sharing this year with me!

2015 has been super exciting:

It started out with an intense 6 week decluttering course in the spring, which was very popular and got some amazing results from participants, letting go of material goods and embracing freedom.

I was also thrilled when Joshua Becker asked me to guest post [6 Lies that Keep Our Homes and Lives Cluttered] on his blog becoming minimalist. I’ve been a reader of his blog since I first started my minimalist journey in 2008. In October I had the opportunity to sit and visit with Joshua over coffee, which was a definite pleasure.

In December I published a book on Amazon, encouraging others to Simplify The Holidays and focus on what is truly important.

Aside from the blog, family life is always interesting:

The baby of the family isn’t a baby anymore, he’s toddling around, getting into everything his siblings leave out and talking up a storm.

We have continued with Classical Conversations homeschool co-op for our middle children and (some days, when the songs won’t stop in my mind, I regret that decision, but most of the time) it’s great to see how much they are learning and enjoying it.

Two of the older boys are in highschool, one a junior and one a senior, with adult responsibilities right around the corner.

In November, our oldest son, Luke graduated from Marine Corps boot camp and is embarking on his career of Crash Fire Rescue.

Thank you for making this a wonderful year. I’m grateful for every single one of you; for reading, sharing and being an encouragement to me.

Want to know what articles everyone was reading in 2015? Here are the top 5:

18 Non-Toy Gifts for Toddlers 421,979 people were striving to avoid the toy induced chaos that plagues our culture during birthdays and holidays. I can’t blame them- as a mother of 6, I’ve had my share of toy battles. The kids don’t want them, the parents don’t want them… why is there still so much?! All the gift giving articles were read a considerable amount this year, the Toddler gift post was followed by Clutter-Free Gifts For Children, Grandparents and Women.

The Clutter-Depression-Anxiety Cycle post resonated with so many people. It’s a vicious cycle: anxiety or depression can lead to a cluttery home and a cluttery home can lead to depression and more anxiety, and we tend to do less about the house, which makes it even worse yet.

Tour My Minimalist Kitchen I know for me personally, I love touring the homes of others. Particularly when I was in the midst of my serious decluttering, I needed motivation and always found it in pictures.

7 Secrets to Always Have a Tidy HomeWhen you implement these 7 secrets, you won’t need to set aside time to clean, instead, it’s in the way you live and yes, you will work as you go, it will seem like less work all the way around, simply because it’s done.

A few of my favorite articles from this year:

Commit To A Year Of Less. There is so much we can do with ourselves and our time when we decide to do less of all the superfluous.

Creating A Capsule Wardrobe I worked my way through Courtney Carver’s Project 333 and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much helpful information when wanting to live more simply, and feel put-together.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Thank you, Rachel, for all of your work at Nourishing Minimalism! I really enjoy your blog; I’ve been reading for about 2 years now. Just one question: how do you have 2016 things to declutter in 2016? If you’ve seriously decluttered in the past, and keep things (at least most of the time) from reaccumulating, how is it possible there’s so much to get rid of all over again? Not a criticism, just a question. I decluttered as I put away Christmas decorations and found about 30 things to donate or toss. I would feel that all my hard work and new-found habits had failed if I had even a couple hundred things to declutter, let alone thousands, lol.

I keep the chart up to remain conscious of what leaves the home- which also keeps it fresh in my mind, so I am reminded to be careful what I allow into the house. Last year I think we made it to 250 items. 🙂